The uneasy calm in parts of Kwara State was shattered again on Tuesday after suspected bandits launched coordinated attacks in Eruku, a border community in the Ekiti Local Government Area, leaving two people dead and one person injured.
The Kwara State Police Command, in a late-night confirmation, said a parish of the Christ Apostolic Church was among the locations targeted in the assault, which unfolded shortly after 6pm.
Police spokesperson, SP Adetoun Ejire-Adeyemi, disclosed that officers, working alongside local vigilantes, responded swiftly to bursts of gunfire coming from the edge of the community, forcing the attackers to retreat into the surrounding bush.
According to the statement, a worshipper, identified as Mr Aderemi, was shot dead inside the church, while another victim, Mr Tunde Asaba Ajayi, was later discovered lifeless in the bush. A vigilante, Segun Alaja, sustained gunshot injuries and was rushed to ECWA Hospital in Eruku for treatment.
The Commissioner of Police, CP Adekimi Ojo, commended the joint response of security operatives and promised intensified operations across the troubled corridor. He assured residents that security agencies were committed to dismantling the criminal networks operating around the border region.
However, accounts from residents and earlier field reports painted a more harrowing picture of the night’s events. Worshippers at the CAC parish reported that gunmen stormed the church during a special service, opened fire on the congregation, and marched several people — including the pastor — into the bush.
An eyewitness told reporters, “They came in while the service was ongoing and started shooting. Three people died on the spot. They later rounded up some members and took them away.”
The attackers were not done. Travellers along the Ilorin–Kabba Road faced another wave of violence, with motorists abandoning their vehicles and running for cover. A traveller returning from Niger State recounted his ordeal in a voice note obtained by The Punch: “They came around 6:30pm and started shooting. Two people were killed instantly. We don’t even know how many were taken. They are still shooting.”
The community, already on edge from persistent raids over the past three weeks, is now calling for urgent intervention from the highest levels of government. Local leader, Mr Benjamin Ayeoribe, expressed deep frustration over what he described as inadequate support.
“We have begged the local and state governments for help, but nothing concrete has come. We are living in fear every day. We need federal help. These attacks are becoming too much for us to bear. We are pleading with the President to intervene urgently,” he said.
